Cubs Have Spent the Summer Preparing for Dodgers In October

The Chicago Cubs just went to battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, and after being one of the more aggressive teams at this year’s trade deadline, their behavior begs the question: how close is Chicago to competing with the Dodgers to be the best team in the National League? Let’s dive into the Cubs’ post-trade-deadline makeup. 

Aggressive At The Deadline

As things stand, the North Siders are well above .500 and have a stranglehold on the top spot in the National League Wild Card. The Cubs will likely have to face either the current division leaders in the Milwaukee Brewers or the Dodgers at some point in the playoff bracket, but the back-to-back World Series champions are the ultimate threat. 

Chicago went into the deadline swinging, acquiring starting pitchers Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman as well as a nasty reliever in Ryan Zeferjahn. They also got Tyrone Taylor, a remarkable defender and speedy baserunner, for some extra support in the outfield. 

Star Power

Baseball is a team game, and there’s no refuting that. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were on the same team for years, and yet the Los Angeles Angels never even sniffed the World Series (let alone the playoffs). With that being said, having a superstar who other teams have to plan around helps. Ohtani took over the NLCS against the Brewers last year, helping elevate the options around him. 

Pete Crow-Armstrong is a candidate for the National League MVP award this year. He just had a 3-for-5 performance here he hit two home runs and drove four runs in to clinch a sweep against Los Angeles. He’s also above 7 WAR with two months of baseball to go before the playoffs. The Cubs’ center fielder is four homers shy of 30 on the season, and he's already reached 30 steals for the second consecutive year.

This is somebody who can impact the game in all facets, as he’s in the top 10 percentile for fielding range (100th), arm value (97th percentile) and arm strength (90th percentile) while also posting impressive marks with his bat speed (81st percentile), hard-hit rate (88th percentile) and a much-improved walk percentage (84th percentile). 

An Improved Rotation

The Cubs operated with some urgency at the deadline, and Gausman and Holmes are key additions for a couple of reasons. Gausman has a winning pedigree, as the veteran right-handed pitcher was on a Blue Jays squad that was mere outs from a title last year. The 35-year-old uses a three-pitch mix to generate an elite 34.4 percent chase rate (87th percentile), and he’s giving up a free pass just 6.7 percent of the time.

Holmes, on the other hand, is one of the best groundball pitchers in baseball. The former Mets’ starter has earned a 55.3 percent ground ball rate, good enough for the 95th percentile. Put the best fielding team in the big leagues (.989 fielding percentage, T-1st) behind him, and the reliever-turned-starter should feel right at home. 

Playoff Experience

While the Cubs didn’t win the ultimate prize in 2025, they did push the top-seeded Brewers to Game 5 in the NLDS. Every player on last year’s roster now has experience winning a series (the Wild Card Round over the Padres) and playing in a winner-take-all, emotional battle with the team’s bitter rivals. That counts for something as the team gets set to embark on another October journey. 

Add to that knowledge the fact that two of the team’s starting position players in Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman have won a World Series title before, and you have a group that could be primed for a deep run.

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